Rivalries & Top Games to Attend

Land of Lincoln Trophy

Rival Team: Northwestern Wildcats

Northwestern and Illinois play each season for the Land of Lincoln Trophy and have been playing annually since 1927. The intrastate rivalry has blossomed due to the proximity of the two schools, which makes for a great game as many fans will travel to the opposing school for this match up.

Purdue Cannon

Rival Team: Purdue Boilermakers

The Purdue Canon is presented to the winner when Illinois takes on Purdue. The trophy dates back to an incident in 1905 when a group of Purdue students brought the canon to U of I in hopes of firing it off after a victory, only to get it confiscated. After an eleven year hiatus, the rivalry resumed in 1943 and has been an exciting game to watch ever since.

Illbuck Trophy

Rival Team: Ohio State Buckeyes

The winner of the rivalry game between Illinois and Ohio State receives the Illbuck trophy; a wooden replica of a once live turtle with the series results etched into its back.With the addition of Maryland and Rutgers in 2014 these two schools will no longer play each season making it that much more special when these two rivals face off.

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Fast facts

League: NCAA Football

Team:Fighting Illini

Head Coach: Lovie Smith

Team Mascot: Chief Illiniwek (retired)

Year Opened:1922

Capacity:60670

City / State:Champaign / Illinois

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